Xerox Researchers Give 18 Predictions for 2018

Xerox has released a list of 18 predictions for the year made by researchers at its PARC lab. Here they are as published by Wirth Consulting.

#1 Less Data, More Learning: Deep learning still requires tons of data but this may start to change this year as researchers seek to make the learning process more similar to how humans learn/

#2 Age-Responsive Design: We might start seeing websites change their appearance based on the demographics of their users.

#3 Printed Electronics: Electronics production will start becoming custom-made, more personalized, and flexible thanks to new printing technology.

#4 Internet of Things Evolution: From telemetry and smart homes, the Internet of Things may start acquiring more predictive functions in business enterprises, being used as a tool for designing business strategy.

#5 Thermal Process Electrification: Some thermal processes will be replaced with electric alternatives, such as water heating, which should enhance grid stability at a time of higher supply from renewable energy and a growing number of extreme weather events.

#6 Human-Machine Interaction: As computers become smarter, the need for human-machine interaction will only increase, with the dual direction of building smarter computers and learning to interact with them.

#7 Transfer Learning: The applications for transfer learning will expand and its scope will also grow, entering healthcare and social sciences, among others.

#8 The Fourth Industrial Revolution: This year will give us the first signs of how Industry 4.0 is affecting the world. Big news is likely to be announced by large companies seeking to marry physical industrial infrastructure with the digital world.

#9 Convergence of Physical and Digital Design: With growing angst resulting from screen addiction and technology becoming embedded in various environments, we might start to see a reversal of the remote workplace trend, at least in some sectors as digital and physical design come closer together.

#10 Automation: The advance of automation of processes everywhere will continue, with huge disruptive potential across industries and areas of everyday life.

#11 Batteries: Batteries will continue to be ne of the hottest topic in technology and will continue getting cheaper, more durable and more reliable, spurring faster adoption of electric cars.

#12 AI in Healthcare: The adoption of artificial intelligence in the healthcare sector will continue, spanning diagnosis, pharmacy, performance analysis for medical staff, and workflow improvements.

#13 Radar Renaissance: Radar sensor are not as popular as other types because of their low resolution but we may see a renaissance for the technology because of its long range and the fact it is the only one completely weather-proof.

#14 Aging in Place: Technology will be used to enable aging in place as capacity for aging in special facilities dwindles and there are insufficient funds to expand it, while tech solutions become more versatile and widely available.

#15 Robots: More robots will be used in labs, becoming invaluable tools of scientific research along with the cloud.

#16 Consumer-Grade Healthcare Devices: The consumerization of healthcare devices will continue and accelerate this year, with healthcare professionals learning to rely on device-produced data for decision-making.

#17 Cryptocurrencies: Bitcoin already makes a lot of headlines and will continue to do so, possibly becoming the next stage into value tracking in the human civilization. Their current challenges such as scalability, security, and energy efficiency might get resolved within a decade.

#18 Blockchain: Blockchain tech will continue to mature and we could see the beginnings of a global, decentralized knowledge network that doubles as a marketplace. This, combined with advances in computation and sensors, could mark the start of a new era in automation.